CJI’s office received 8,630 complaints against judges in a decade, Law Minister tells Lok Sabha

The office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) received 8,630 complaints against sitting judges in the last decade, Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal informed the Lok Sabha on Friday (February 13, 2026).

The information came in response to a question raised in the House by Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP V.S. Matheswaran who had sought the database of complaints regarding corruption, sexual misconduct, or other serious impropriety received against judges of the High Courts or the Supreme Court.

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Responding to the query, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal submitted that 8,360 complaints against judges were recorded between 2016 and 2025. As per the table shared by the Minister, the CJI’s office got 729 complaints against judges in 2016, followed by 682 in 2017, 717 in 2018, and 1,037 in 2019. In 2020 and 2021, such complaints stood at 518 and 686 respectively. In 2022, 1012 complaints were received, followed by 977 in 2023, 1,170 in 2024, and 1,102 in 2025.

Though Mr. Matheswaran asked if any action had been taken on the complaints, the Minister did not address the query in his written reply.

To another question by the MP on whether the Central government was aware of any system maintained by the Supreme Court to document and track complaints related to corruption, sexual misconduct, or other serious impropriety against judges of the higher judiciary, the Minister said that under the existing “in-house procedure”, the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justices of the High Courts are authorised to receive and handle complaints against judges.

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The Minister further noted that complaints submitted through the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) or other channels are forwarded to the CJI or the respective High Court Chief Justices.

The MP also enquired if the government intended to introduce guidelines or measures to ensure proper documentation, monitoring, and accountability in dealing with complaints against members of the higher judiciary. However, the Minister did not address it.